Not a taster of what will come on Okkervil River’s fourth album, but instead a tour EP compiled specifically for Australian audiences, Overboard and Down feels nothing like a stop-gap release. Most bands would kill to have the originals that this band use as their cast-offs.

What makes Okkervil River such a super band is all there in the hooks of the songs, the deliver of frontman Will Sheff, and his truly brilliant lyrical style. So, in short, the band is close on perfecting their approach – lead-off cut “The President’s Dead” even adds a touch of politicking to proceedings, as Sheff spins a tale of what happens on the day the President is gunned down, as the shock runs through his heart like a knife through bread, and the eggs on the plate and the bacon here sit, with spring on the wind.

Sheff has a way with words like few – where Bright Eyes’ “When the President Talks to God” was relatively heavy-handed and deliberate, “The President’s Dead” has a sense of effortlessness to it that makes it sit apart. “The Room I’m Hiding In” is a gentle country waltz, while the cover of Big Star’s “O Dana” is magical, rollicking along in real Okkervil style. The band bring their own thing to it, and it stands out as a result.

Closing with the older cut “Westfall” taken live from their last set of shows in Australia, Okkervil River show effortlessly on Overboard and Down just how good they can be. “The President’s Dead” with its tales of early obits saying he was a good man (you can’t argue with that today, no you can’t) and queries of what you were doing when is just fantastic to hear. A superb song written by a master songwriter and performed by a fabulous band – and given away as an Australian-only exclusive. Huzzah!